SCAO recommends equal number of judgeship adds and cuts

Eight new judgeships should be added and eight should be eliminated, the SCAO said in its biennial recommendations to the Michigan Legislature, which has the sole authority to create or eliminate judgeships.

The SCAO is recommending elimination four Wayne County circuit court judgeships. A district court judgeship would be eliminated in Berrien, Delta and Saginaw counties, and the colossal 12th Circuit, which consists of the Upper Peninsula counties of Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw.

Macomb County would pick up four circuit court judgeships, Oakland County would gain two, and in Kent County, one circuit and one district court judge would be added.

The recommendations are made based on the SCAO’s assessment of courts’ workloads.

In addition, the report contains court-consolidation recommendations for legislative consideration:

Combine Branch and Hillsdale counties into a single judicial circuit. The report finds that each county, with three judges, has one more judgeship than justified by the courts’ workload. The legislature could later eliminate one judgeship from the combined circuit, the report suggests.

Consolidate Westland’s 18th District Court — which needs an additional judge — with another nearby district court with a judicial excess. The report mentions district courts in Dearborn Heights, Plymouth, Redford, and Wayne City as possible candidates for consolidation with Westland’s court.

Consolidate the 33rd District Court in Woodhaven with the 28th District Court in Southgate.

Convert municipal courts in Grosse Pointe City, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, and Grosse Pointe Woods to a single district court for the Grosse Pointes, or consolidate the courts with Harper Woods’ 32A District Court.